A viral video taken by a kayaker (@fireball_1969) has a lot of people scratching their heads. In the video, a woman sits in her kayak in the middle of a waterway when, all of the sudden, monkeys start leaping from the surrounding trees in the water. Plop, plop, plop—the monkeys just keep coming. The woman cracks up, saying: “It’s raining monkeys!” But here’s the kicker: She’s in Florida.
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There are several populations of non-native monkeys living in the Silver Springs area of Florida. These populations include three different species that have “established breeding populations”—rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), squirrel monkeys (Saimiri spp.), and vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus).
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An official Florida Springs tourism account shared the kayaker’s video, confirming that yes, there are monkeys in Florida.
“Rhesus Macaques reside at Silver Springs[;] however they’re invasive!!” wrote Florida Springs Passport in its post sharing @fireball_1969’s TikTok video. “They are descendants of a small group released in the 1930s by a tour boat operator who wanted to add to the park’s tourist attractions!!”
Watch it rain monkeys in Florida:
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